I'm only happy when it rains
I'm only happy when it's complicated
And though I know you can't appreciate it
I'm only happy when it rains

You know I love it when the news is bad
Why it feels so good to feel so sad?
I'm only happy when it rains

Pour your misery down
Pour your misery down on me
Pour your misery down
Pour your misery down on me

I'm only happy when it rains
I feel good when things are goin' wrong
I only listen to the sad, sad songs
I'm only happy when it rains

I only smile in the dark
My only comfort is the night gone black
I didn't accidentally tell you that
I'm only happy when it rains
You'll get the message by the time I'm through
When I complain about me and you
I'm only happy when it rains

Pour your misery down (Pour your misery down)
Pour your misery down on me
Pour your misery down (Pour your misery down)
Pour your misery down on me
Pour your misery down (Pour your misery down)
Pour your misery down on me

Pour your misery down
You can keep me company
As long as you don't care

I'm only happy when it rains
You wanna hear about my new obsession?
I'm riding high upon a deep depression
I'm only happy when it rains

Pour some misery down on me
I'm only happy when it rains
Pour some misery down on me
I'm only happy when it rains
Pour some misery down on me
I'm only happy when it rains
Pour some misery down on me

I'm only happy when it rains
Pour some misery down on me
Pour some misery down on me
Pour some misery down on me
Pour some misery down on me

Pour some misery down on me
Pour some misery down on me


Lyrics submitted by sawg

Only Happy When It Rains Lyrics as written by Shirley Ann Manson Douglas Elwin Erickson

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Only Happy When It Rains song meanings
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64 Comments

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  • +5
    General Comment

    It seems Only Happy When It Rains has been misunderstood. Primarily being taken far too literally, the song is not in fact, about being pleased with being depressed. I’d like to bring up a quote of Shirley herself describing the song:

    "It's about the grunge attitude in America, which is a pretty morose attitude to have. We were being pretty tongue-in-cheek. But it's also a song about wanting love, but knowing that life will always get in the way, and of knowing that, and yet not being obliterated by that. It's a song for people that know what it's like to live on the dark side."

    Take her translation however you feel is best. I personally understand it as a realistic but empowering perspective of acknowledging the difficulties in life. But rather than letting the tragedies we face bring us down, surviving the ordeal becomes an empowering experience, leaving us grinning where others would have broken down. The ‘happiness’ doesn’t come from the sadness itself, but in surviving it.

    Lynoituson November 09, 2005   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    Garbage is all about having a pop sound but dark lyrics at the same time, so they kind of slip under your radar.. this song is about embracing your depression and revelling in it. This is a great song for whenever your're really, really down and feel like you're ready to just live with that. Or when things improve but seem dull, and you wonder if all the angst and stuff wasn't more interesting.

    ic_assasainon September 14, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I think there's also that other side to it, which is like sarcastically and bitterly saying "do you think I want to be unhappy and depressed?!" when people say that depression is something you can just get out of by cheering up.

    staybeautifulon June 01, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Sometimes I can totally relate to this. We're only happiest when our mood is at our zenith. For me my extreme is either ecstatic..or depressed beyond hell. And that high, in itself, completely shrouds our senses and overwhelms us. Also, when we go through shit, it's refreshing to see the rest of the world is suffering with us.

    Alinaon March 09, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think that this song is about people not being able to feel anything but depression, and ti be without it would be leaving their comfort zone, so basically they're ony compfortable feeling miserable, coz thats what theyre used to.

    someone once told me that this song is about golden showers but i really dont think that it is. That persons a bit of a fuckwit!

    boptonon April 02, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I agree with ic_assasain about “embracing your depression”. I think that humans just create problems to be more interesting. We "advance" so that we won’t be bored and kill ourselves because we have nothing better to do. That’s why we aren’t primitive stone-age people anymore. That’s why we have shrinks and medications for problems that we’ve lived with and dealt with before. We are living in a society that is never comfortable where it is. It’s never accepting of its faults; it either overlooks them or constantly tries to fix them depending on the severity of the problem. And I think that this song touches on that.

    WhiteIronon April 07, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I agree with SGMonkee, and what Lynoitus said makes sense. The song has always struck me as ironic and "tongue-in-cheek", not a song to romaticize depression, but it almost seems to be countering that. I think it's a strange phenomenon...kids thinking that it is "cool" to be depressed. It isn't cool, it's fucking awful..and it doesn't make you a better or necessarily more interesting person. All in all, I think it is a good song, albeit not one to be taken literally.

    zwei_02on May 04, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song used to spook me. I was going through a rough patch last year and watched the movie 'the exorcisim of emily rose', I used to sleep with my ipod next to me. Until it started waking me up at 3:00 in the morning - playing this song. At first I thought nothing of it, but then I became skeptical of it when it happened a few times in a row (always playing the same song). Funny thing was.. It was always switched off and on hold. Weird eh?? BUT it's a good song!!!!

    eekajeanon April 07, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    It's about taking pleasure from sadness. It's not like being happy. It brings you down every single time. A big part of depression is feeling guilty. For whatever reason, however ridiculous it seems. This leads to self hatred and everything entailed. There are many forms of self harm. You can cut your self,burn your skin or pull your hear. But it can also affect the inside. Sometimes, sadness is a drug. A Powerful addiction you can't live without. You wont enjoy it, but somehow, it gives you life. And the source is everywhere. A sad song, bad news or complicated relationships. Until pain becomes an obsession, something you sort of like, because deep down you believe you deserve it.

    JohnnyBbadon December 16, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It's the story of my life...

    R.I.P.on May 02, 2002   Link

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